Worcester County home sales on rise

Thursday

Jan 30, 2014 at 6:00 AMJan 30, 2014 at 12:08 PM

By Lisa Eckelbecker TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Worcester County home sales climbed in 2013 to the highest levels since the last recession as the broader Massachusetts housing market continued to improve, according to data released Wednesday from two groups that track the state's home sales.

Prices also rose in Worcester County and across the state, and Realtors said one of the issues they face in some areas is too few properties to show prospective buyers.

"I think everyone's very positive about 2014," said David W. Stead, a Realtor and broker associate at RE/MAX Advantage 1 in Worcester. "We're coming around the corner."

A total of 457 detached single-family homes sold during December in Worcester County, up 2 percent over the same month a year earlier. For the full year 2013, a total of 6,523 homes sold, up 5 percent over 2012 sales, according to The Warren Group, publisher of the trade journal Banker & Tradesman. It was the largest annual sales total since the 2007-2009 recession.

The Warren Group counted 107 condominium sales in Worcester County during December, up 15 percent over the year, and 1,438 condo sales during the full year, up 11 percent over 2012. Condo sales levels remained well below the 1,965 condos sold during 2007.

Prices for both single-family homes and condos rose during 2013 in Worcester County but remained below 2007 levels.

The median December home price of $215,000 was up about 4 percent over the same month a year earlier, the Warren Group said. For the full year, the median price of $226,000 was up nearly 14 percent. In 2007, as the nation plunged into recession, the median price was $269,100, according to Warren Group data.

The median price of a condo in Worcester County hit $175,000 in December, up 3 percent over the same month the previous year. The 2013 median price of $179,255 was up 12 percent. In 2007, the median condo price was $205,000, Warren Group data showed.

Statewide, 2013 home sales were up 5 percent and median home prices were up 10 percent to $320,000. Condo sales jumped 7 percent, and the median price was up 7 percent to $296,000, the Warren Group said.

The housing market has been on the mend since the last decade when a wave of improper and sometimes fraudulent mortgages swamped the nation's financial system. Realtors and others in Central Massachusetts said they are seeing signs of continued improvement in housing — more people taking home-buying courses, buyers showing up with larger down payments than in the past, prices high enough to encourage homeowners to list their properties for sale and fewer distressed properties hitting the market.

By this time next year, distressed properties will likely account for 3 percent to 4 percent of housing sales, down from levels that reached 30 percent in 2010, said Realtor Nilton Lisboa of Lisboa Realty in Marlboro, which specializes in selling bank-owned properties. That could mean less property for investors who seek out foreclosed homes at rock-bottom prices to renovate and rent or resell.

"2013 was the last year for the investor, in my opinion," Mr. Lisboa said. "Investors cannot compete with homebuyers because homebuyers are willing to pay a little bit more."

The Massachusetts Association of Realtors, a trade group that also tracks property transactions, said single-family homes stayed on the market an average of 99 days in Massachusetts during 2013, down from 126 days in 2012.

Interest rates remained low during 2013, which helped buyers, said Stephanie Pandiscio, a Realtor with Foster-Healey Real Estate Inc. in Athol and Leominster, and central region vice president of the Massachusetts Association of Realtors.

"They could be fine with not having to worry about the rates going up," she said. "They had a lot of inventory out there to look at, because the sellers were more comfortable. I think the buyers were ready."

The average monthly inventory of homes for sale in Massachusetts during 2013 was down 18 percent from 2012, the Massachusetts Association of Realtors said. For some brokers, the supply of homes for sale dwindled too much. Mr. Stead, the Worcester broker, said he recently struggled to find two to three homes for sale in communities under consideration by some Texas buyers who were in Massachusetts to house hunt.

"There are buyers out there that want to buy stuff, but there isn't the right inventory for them," Mr. Stead said.

Contact Lisa Eckelbecker at leckelbecker@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @LisaEckelbecker.